First up today is a Chip Johnson piece about the impossibility of Oakland keeping the A's. Unlike actual Oaklanders (or at least people who still live in Northern California, a place I haven't been in 12 years), I don't have a lot of stake in this. I'm opposed as a general matter to public financing of stadiums, so I don't want to see Oakland prostrating itself before MLB just to keep a team that provides a few dozen low-wage seasonal jobs and maybe a little bit of hotel tax revenue. On the other hand, history does matter, and I'd be a little sad to talk about my favorite team, the San Jose A's or the South Bay A's or the California A's or whatever other monstrous thing they'd name themselves. Reggie Jackson and Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart and Sal Bando didn't play for those teams. World Series weren't won by those teams. Much as it would be the same franchise with the same name and the same colors, there'd be a break in history at that point that cannot be ignored.

salvotion at Camden Chat suggests that the Orioles trade Adam Jones to the A's for Brett Anderson. S/he is wise enough to recognize that the A's have no reason to do this, because Jones is (shockingly?) just two years from free agency, which is one to two years before the A's are thinking about being in the World Series. Sure, they could flip Jones for prospects, but why not just flip Anderson himself? More teams need a starting pitcher (all of them) than a center-fielder. So yeah, this isn't happening.

Yesterday, Marc Hulet updated the Fangraphs Top 15 Prospects for Oakland in light of the Trevor Cahill trade. Jarrod Parker is immediately the #1 prospect, which will come as no surprise to anyone. Collin Cowgill slots in at #8, a spot behind Michael Taylor, which I guess I won't quibble with, and Ryan Cook, surprisingly, perhaps, is at #11, with the most recognizable name behind Cook perhaps being 2011 draftee B.A. Vollmuth. (Stephen Parker is also #12, and he's been around long enough that many of you probably know his name, but c'mon, I had to mention ol' B.A.)

Don't miss Episode 3 of Tarp Talk, a stat-y podcast about the A's hosted by the fearsome foursome of Alan Torres, David Wishinsky, David Spencer, and David Wiers. Too many Davids if you ask me, especially given the temerity they had to come hard at this blog and my person. You know what they say about comin' at the king, fellas.

Speaking of Wishinsky, the man himself looks at potential suitors for Gio Gonzalez in light of the widespread rumors that Toronto submitted the highest bid on Yu Darvish. I will say that Dave-Dub appears, from his post, to be a member of the 1%. The 1%, that is, of baseball fans who believe Jesus Montero can be a full-time catcher. But in any case, I agree that Washington could provide an interesting trade match for Gonzalez. Bryce Harper isn't coming, and there'd have to be something finagling of dates and PTBNLs about including Anthony Rendon in a deal, but there is a combination of prospects and weird desperation in D.C. that could work well for Billy Beane.